Surgical leg-stretching device



April 8, 1933. 1.. HEIGL I 1,904,942

SURGICAL LEG STRETCHING DEVICE Fiied March 29, 1930 graduated Patented Apr. 18, 1933 UNITED STATES 'P'ATEN T oFncE LUDwiG union or wmnmr, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR or ONE-FOURTH 'ro FRED zsgssnr. AND JAMES s. KENDALL, BOTH or KNOX'COUNTY,'TEXAS SURGICAL LEG sTRETCflIN G DEVICE App1icati0n filed March 29, 1930, Serial No.

leg, andthe invention consists in the pro- VlSlOl'l of a leg-supporting frame to which the.

leg is connected by means of a thigh strap and which is provided with a winch and with ropes guided over pulleys andconnected to knee and ankle straps on the leg for stretching the latter.

The rope connections include spring elements, and a foot rest is provided Which participates in the stretching movement, the extension of the springs and the displacement of the foot rest being indicated by means of scales as a guide for the operator. Means are provided for regulating the effective height of the apparatus as well as the angular position of the leg-supporting elements.

The invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing which represents aside View showing the apparatus in use.

he apparatus comprises a frame 14 which may be provided with supporting rollers or with means for connection to a bedstead. One part 6 of the frame is extensible and is connected by means'of pivots 7 to inclined, extensible .struts a adapted to receive the thigh of the leg between them. The struts a are connected by means of pivots c to supporting brackets 42 which also hold on the same pivots the ends of bars 6 between which the leg proper is supported. The free ends of the bars 6 areinterconnected by a stay which is guided in the space 3 between the members of a fork 4. concentrically with the pivot pin a so as to allow the bars to be angularly displaced for supporting the leg proper in any desired angular position. A clamp screw 5 is used for securing thebars in the adjusted position.

The bars 6 serve as guides for a slidable foot rest n which is connected by means .of a rope s to a winch w. The rope is guided over a pulley t mounted on the stay connecting the free ends of the bars 2, and over a pulley u mounted on the frame at the opposite end of the latter. The winch acts on the rope The latter is curved- 440,088, and in Germany February 12, 1930.

through the medium of a slide and springs to, a 'scale 2 being provided Whereon'the movement of the slide and thus the extension of the springs can be gauged.

The leg is connected to the struts a by means of a thigh strap d. A knee strap 9 is connected by ropes h to the foot rest 11. for stretching the thigh. The rope is guided over pulleys r so as to apply the pull in the right direction. The pulleys are mounted on brackets which are adjustably supported on the bars I). For stretching the leg proper an ankle strap is is provided which is connected by loops or links to the foot rest. The displacement of the foot rest and thus the extent of the stretching can be gauged by means of a scale 2. Leg bandages z and thigh bandages .fiare provided for maintaining the fractured .parts in their proper relative positions, the use of plaster of Paris being thus'obviated. Thebandages' are secured by means of buckles e so as to allow of easy removal in order to gauge the progress of the healing process. The stretching straps are padded with rubber or the like so thatthey can obtain a good grip on the leg without causing pain and with out interfering with the blood circulatlon.

The foot rest is provided with a vertically and horizontally adjustable support 0 for the ball ofthe. foot. The horizontal adjustment of this support is effected by means of a'screw spindle p.

The effective height regulated through the medium of racks 10 along which the lower ends of supporting struts 8 can be shifted by means of hand Wheels 13 and pinions in order to place the struts in a, more or less inclined position.

of .the apparatus is longitudinal slots 12' are guided;

The apparatus can easily be. operated by a surgeon single-handed. After the frame has been adjusted to suit the leg and after the straps have been secured to the latter, the winch is operated for stretching the leg and separating the fractured parts so as to allow them to be each other. After the parts have been thus positioned the pull may be slackened and 11 wherein clamp screws properly positioned relative to in the slots of said links and whereby theyof the struts.

afterwards maintained onl nitude to prevent the leg rom getting short during the healing process. The magnitude of the pull and the extent of the stretching can readily be ascertained from the scales.

The apparatus canalso be used with advantage for stretching and righting abnormally shaped legs,

I claim p 1. A surgical leg-stretching device comprising in combination, a leg supporting frame having a tiltable upper portion, a. thigh strap connected to said frame, knee and ankle. straps, a foot rest arranged to slide on said tiltable frame portion, means for conncrting said foot rest to the ankle strap, ropes connecting said foot rest with the knee strap, adjustable guide pulleys supporting said ropes on the tiltable frame portion, a which mounted on the frame, ropes connecting said winch with the foot rest, pulleys guiding said latter ropes on the difl'erent frame portions to allow a' supported leg to be stretched by means of the winch, and a spring element inserted between the ropes and the winch.

E2. The apparatus claimed in claim 1. in combination with supportlng' struts pivoted to the leg frame, supporting racks, pinions whereby said struts are supported on said racks, slotted controlling links for said struts, rlampscrews whereby the struts are guided can be secured to the links in difierent positions, and hand wheels for turning the pin ions on the racks to varied'angular positlons LUDWIG HEIGL.

at suflicient magfor instance of children, 

